Practical Tips for Building the Perfect Showcase
Part 1
VOCALS
Micah Barnes is a singer , songwriter , and vocal and performance coach . He travels between Toronto , New York , and Los Angeles on a regular basis to work with clients and also offers private sessions online . His Singers Playground performance workshops , which he developed at The Highways Performing Arts University in Santa Monica , CA , have helped thousands of artists deepen their skill sets as performers on both sides of the border . www . singersplayground . com .
By Micah Barnes
Practical Tips for Building the Perfect Showcase
Part 1
At some point in every artist ’ s career , we are asked to perform a showcase set . Giving an audience of industry folks a snapshot of who we are as artists can certainly be a daunting task ; however , distilling your musical world down to a short set of songs can be a useful exercise that will teach you a whole lot about who you are as an artist , and relay that to other people .
Song Order When figuring out the order of songs , I recommend beginning by figuring out the top and bottom of your set . Those are the songs that folks will remember the most and should therefore be your strongest tunes . Once you know how you are starting and ending , it will help you choose the rest of your songs and build up your set .
First Song The set opener . Yes , it says , “ Welcome to my party ,” but it also has to let the audience know what kind of party we are arriving at ! It should make clear the style of music to follow , and establish your identity and musical personality as clearly as possible with a single song .
Second Song Your second tune is more important than you think . If it doesn ’ t deepen your identity , then the audience will think it has you “ figured out ” as an artist and performer and start to lose interest . Remember , an industry crowd is full of people who likely attend showcases every week , if not more . Very few artists can hold an industry audience past the first song unless what they do next is surprising , interesting , and deepens the story in some way .
Cover Songs Most artists that develop their own material resist the suggestion of adding cover material to a showcase set , which is understandable , but trust me on this : You want a well known song or two in your set . Having attended hundreds of artist showcases over the years , the one thing that I ’ ve noticed consistently is that although industry folks are honestly interested in discovering new artists , as soon as they have a sense of what you do , they are equally as eager to catch up with each other and talk shop . Your job is to catch them and hold them , so well placed covers can be a very useful strategy . We may not ALL be as “ in love ” with your original material as you are , and a familiar tune can act like a spotlight that helps illuminate the original material around it .
That said , if you do incorporate a cover , take time to make sure it ’ s a great fit and really make your version fresh and your own ; don ’ t just throw it into your set as a last-minute idea . You may have to experiment with many , many songs before finding the right fit . It will be worth it in the long run !
Set Closers The last few songs in your set should be the very strongest you have . Choose the material your audiences have told you they love the most – the songs you know have a little “ magic ” in them . If an industry crowd is still listening to you come your last few songs , it ’ s because they are impressed and want to hear your “ big numbers .” They will be waiting to see if you can deliver , so make sure that you do !
Stage Patter I would recommend rehearsing the “ patter ” as much as the songs ! Be very clear on what you want to cover subject wise and know where you are going in your intros and segues ; otherwise , the risk of wandering or not being able to talk at all because of nerves can come into play . My advice for any artist who is coming up on an important showcase is to play a dozen shows – open mics , opening a show for a friend , etc . – with stage patter as your biggest focus . The audience will be forgiving if you ’ re killing it musically , but there ’ s no guarantee that ’ s going to happen , so I recommend plotting your words as carefully as you do your songs .
Encore Yes , you will need an encore . The chances of an industry crowd giving you an encore are very small , but if you are killing it and they are calling for one more , it ’ s your chance to run a victory lap ! Have something prepared that is either really fun , or deep and powerful that you know will have them celebrating you as their “ new discovery !”
More tips coming in Part 2 .
32 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN